


A Visit

by lrynt252



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 17:29:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16580900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lrynt252/pseuds/lrynt252
Summary: Late one night, not long after Tonks is born, Bellatrix pays Andromeda a short visit.





	A Visit

“Pretty little thing,” came a voice cooing from the shadows. Soon, Bellatrix emerged from the darkness nearing her sister, who was sat stiffly in the chair. Andromeda hoped Bellatrix wouldn’t know she didn’t have her wand on her. But she would kill Bellatrix with her bare hands if she said even a cross word to her daughter, her little miracle.

“What are you doing here, Bella?” Andromeda demanded.

“Come to pay you a visit, Andy, and what should I find but a tiny colour-change child?” Bellatrix remarked as she came closer. She knelt beside the rocking chair, peering at the tiny infant nursing at Andromeda’s breast.

“Don’t touch my daughter, Bella,” Andromeda bit out, and Bellatrix withdrew the hand that had been nearing the baby’s cheek. Her eyes never left the little girl, whose hair was gently shifting colours as she nursed.

“I don’t plan to harm her, Andy,” Bellatrix said quietly. “I wouldn’t.”

“Why not?” Andromeda asked suspiciously, but a small part of her heart wanted to believe there was something redeemable in her sister still. Bellatrix was only twenty-one and yet she was already the Dark Lord’s most ruthless follower.

“She’s a baby,” Bellatrix replied in a baby voice. Andromeda looked down at her daughter, who was falling asleep, still sort of sucking.

“Her name is Nymphadora. She’s only a week old,” she told Bellatrix, smiling at the little girl. It had been hard to get pregnant and a difficult pregnancy. She was lucky they had both survived.

“Tiny little thing,” Bellatrix cooed again.

“Why are you here, Bella?” Andromeda asked quietly, looking at her sister, whose gaze had never left the baby. The wounds of being disowned and Banned from the house she had grown up in, along with both her sisters turning their backs on her, were still fresh for Andromeda.

“I heard you nearly died, though I didn’t know what was trying to kill you,” Bellatrix replied.

“How?”

“You saw the Healer I’ve been bribing to tell me if people come in and whether they die or not.”

“You don’t want me dead, Bella?” Andromeda asked in disbelief.

“You should live with your consequences,” Bellatrix said with a shrug, a typical deflective response. Andromeda felt tears pricking in her eyes.

“How is Cissy?” she asked.

“Finishing up her schooling. She’ll be married to her proud peacock in August,” Bellatrix replied.

“How are you?”

“Successful.”

They lapsed into silence for a bit, both looking at the sleeping Nymphadora. Her hair had stopped changing colour as she slept peacefully. Bellatrix reached forward again and Andromeda didn’t protest as she gently touched the baby’s cheek. Tears rolled down Andromeda’s cheeks. She had never thought either of her sisters would ever get to meet her daughter.

“Will you ever come back?” Andromeda asked softly.

“No,” Bellatrix said simply. “You’re a blood traitor, Andy. You shouldn’t deserve my mercy. But you can have it, just this once.” She leaned forward to press a kiss to the baby’s small forehead before standing. She reached to touch Andromeda’s cheek gently before kissing her forehead as well.

“I still love you, Bella,” Andromeda said in a quiet, sad voice.

“I know,” Bellatrix replied with a nod. “I like your daughter.” She shifted into smoke and slipped out the cracked open window. Andromeda held Nymphadora close a bit longer before returning her to her cot and returning to her own room where Ted was snoring softly. She climbed into bed, feeling Ted’s arm wrap around her instinctively. She lay there, mourning the loss of her family all over again even as she appreciated the gesture on Bellatrix’s part. Bellatrix had been worried about her sister and come to investigate, she had been gentle with Nymphadora and even almost kind to Andromeda, who had never expected another kind gesture from her sister. She revelled in the small meeting, resolving to tell Ted about it in the morning. As much as she knew Bellatrix hated her choices, she trusted her sister’s word. She would never again see Bellatrix in her small brick house.


End file.
